Chameleon Mystery
by GillieBloo
Summary: When the 11th Doctor and Rose are trapped in 19th century London, he takes that hard decision. But when the human Doctor is killed, is there a way to bring him back? P.S It's meant to be a Sally Lockhart crossover, but they didn't have the category.
1. Prologue

One single shot rang out over London's cold smoggy streets, accompanied by a lady's high pitched scream. Jim Taylor fell to the floor, a red rose of blood spreading over his shirt. The men that did it snuck away, with no punishment, as no-one of high society cared for a lowly Cockney shop boy. Sally Lockhart did though. She ran to his side, like the cobbled street was a race track, with no lumps or potholes to break her path. She held him as he lay dying, crying as his breathing shuddered to a halt, and as chaos started to fall from the stars.

* * *

The busy London markets were full of people, hurrying to carry on with their business without anyone else knowing. Suddenly a tall young man, with a mop of brown hair and startlingly green eyes came sprinting through the street, looking over his shoulder as if being chased. He rounded the corner, trying not to run into any of the carriages crossing across the roads as he slowed, and casually carried on walking up an alleyway, reaching a blue box at the end. He nervously fiddled in his pocket, before pulling out a small key, and with a somewhat triumphant face, opened the door.


	2. Immortal Darkness

"Alright, Doctor?" A gentle feminine voice rang out through the TARDIS.

"Yeah, just wondering why no-one around here has access to the time vortex. I mean, we should be in 52nd century Raxacoricofallapatorius, and I'm pretty sure they had access to time-travel,"

The Doctor hurried around the controls, flicking buttons and pulling levers, and with a sigh of apparent despair, flopped into the driver's chair.

"The TARDIS just seems dead. There isn't a sign of life anywhere in her, and she just won't seem to get started. This means we're stuck, on 52nd century Raxacoricofallapatorius and we can't get back!"

Rose appeared from the corridors leading away into the living area. She smiled at the Doctor, and before he could stop her, she ran towards the door, and disappeared outside.

"Doctor, do you know why we can't get the time vortex? Because we're in London."

"WHAT! We can't be in London, this looks just like the markets of........" The Doctor followed Rose outside. His jaw hit the floor as he realized that Rose was right. They were in 19th century London, Camden to be precise.

"Old girl, what did you do that for?" The Doctor turned to the TARDIS, "You sacrificed yourself to save us, and now we're stuck here. The last TARDIS in existence, and you gave yourself for me." A tear rolled down his cheek, and he fell to the floor in a flood of them, cursing himself for everything. Rose ran to his side, and held him in her arms, rocking the Lord of Time like a new born baby, comforting him as the last technology of his people faded, and he himself became the last thing from Gallifrey.

"Doctor, there's got to be something you can do. You can't just give up."

"You wouldn't understand, having been stuck in the parallel world all these years. They returned, my people, my glorious home world, and I had to send them back into oblivion, into the war and destruction, to save you. You and the entire planet. Otherwise Hell would be unleashed above you, and the human race would come to an end."

"Is that why you regenerated?"

" No. I took the decision to regenerate to save one man. Wilf. He deserved to live as much as the rest of you, and I can regenerate and live forever. That's why I come back to save you. And I need to stop now. I can't do anything anymore, I have no TARDIS. And sorry to tell you this, but there is no way back. We're going to have to blend in."

"But Doctor, you can't."

"Precisely, this is why I have the Chameleon Arch. It rewrites my DNA and can turn me into any life form in the Universe. But the one thing is, Rose, now the TARDIS is dead, there's only one way that I can change back.

"What's that?"

"It's said, that back in the very beginnings of time, when Earth was the first settled planet of the Time Lords, before we discovered Gallifrey, that the first Time Lord placed a ruby, The Ruby of Agrapur, in the centre of the Time Lord citadel, and that whoever finds it will be forever immortal, and would have endless regenerations. But Rose, if I do it, you must promise me one thing. Only get the ruby if I am mortally wounded. Don't find it if I fall over. Only if I die. Promise me that.

"I promise. But, Doctor, what about me?"

"I can reset your memories before I change, so that Rose Tyler doesn't exist yet, and so that we can forget our old life and I'll give you one completely different. If I change back, I'll get them back. And that's a Time Lord promise; immortal do you trust me?"

"Of course."

"Then let's go!" The Doctor jumped up, miles away from the state he was just in, and rushed back into the TARDIS, grabbing something swinging on the ceiling. He whipped out the sonic screwdriver, buzzing away at the headset, and then turned to Rose.

"Are you ready for Rose Tyler to go?" He said this with a note of uncertainty in his voice, like he wasn't sure, but Rose had to trust him.

"I'd give up forever to be with you, Doctor."

The Doctor nodded awkwardly and stepped forward, reaching out his hands to Rose's head. He closed his eyes, scrunching them in pain as he stepped through the memories of a life he was about to extinguish. Rose felt a sharp pain in her head, and then nothing, nothing but a voice calling out, and then darkness, calming cooling black.

The Doctor looked at Roses crumpled form on the TARDIS floor, and then hooked up the Chameleon Arch to his head. He closed his eyes and activated it, pain racking through his body, his skin crawling and his left heart fading away, before joining Rose in the silence of unconsciousness.


	3. The Workings of a London Office Boy

Jim Taylor awoke with a sweat. _That was one weird dream, _he thought to himself, _must have been last night. That was some party. _He sat up, propping himself against the soft downy pillows, and reached over to the clock. The hands pointed to half past six in the morning. _Oh well, better get up. Old Selby will have my head if I'm late again._ He forced himself out of bed and towards the rusted sink in the corner, but tripped over the bedposts. He sat on the floor, dusting himself off and muttering swearwords under his breath. _Bloody hell Jim, just think to yourself, you could have done so much better than this. Office boy, what the heck ever that is, is the worst job ever. Having to put up with Skidmore day in, day out. Oh well, pays for home. If you can call a room home._

Jim looked around the room. A stained grey sink stood in one corner, taps fiery with rust, while an old armchair, stuffing coming out the arms, was put by the window. Jim liked to sit there and write. Writing down all his dreams. Dreams of the same 10 men, and him, but at the same time not him. And always the girl. The beautiful blonde girl. Cockney, like him, but with an elegant way about her.

He jumped up from the floor, realizing he had been sat there like a drunken cat for at least half an hour.

"Oh, damn it!" He rushed towards the door, pulling on his shoes and grabbing his hat on the way out. He sauntered through the foggy streets, populated only by the early morning market traders and rag and bone boys, before rounding the corner and entering the back door of a posh canal side building.

"Ahh, so you finally decide to turn up on time? I'm surprised at you, shortarse," A snobbish voice rang out through the building.

"Skidmore, you're a bit of a dick aren't you_," _Jim sighed, "Shame it's growing on your head, not where the ladies would like it,"

Skidmore appeared from around the corner, sticking his middle finger up at Jim, with a look of pure hate on his face. Jim smiled at him sarcastically, and entered an office with "Mr Selby" on the door in gold lettering.

"What am I doing today?" he asked.

"You're staying here and looking after the customers," An old man in the chair by the window replied. _Oh joy, another day of boredom, _Jim contemplated in his head, _but I'll spend it in the attic, no-one will notice._

A small bell rang out through the corridors of the building. Jim sighed, and walked out of the office, heading down a narrow corridor, before ending out at the main desk of the company. A young woman was waiting by the desk, her back turned to him.

_Christ, she's got a nice bum._

She turned, blonde hair swinging in the draft through the door. Huge brown doe eyes were shaded under a small fringe that covered her forehead, and cherry red lips parted to reveal pearl white teeth. Jim gasped. He recognized her. She was the girl from his dreams.


	4. The Idiot and The Creature

Sally Lockhart stood by the desk of Lockhart and Selby, the shipping company owned by her late father. Selby had just sent for his office boy, but she wasn't expecting him. A tall young man, possibly late teens, early twenties, with floppy brown hair, shocking emerald eyes and a strong jaw line, shuffled into the room. _I know him, _she thought, _I know him, yet I have never met him. _And he obviously recognized her, because as soon as he saw her, his jaw dropped. A gormless look covered his face and he stared at her. _His eyes were different, so young but yet the whole of time passes through them, and he's staring at me._

"Do you mind? A lady would think that she is a common whore by the way you are gawping at her!" She snapped. She couldn't be dealing with an idiot's teenage crush right now. Not when her father had just been murdered.

"Ignore him, madam, he wasn't caught young enough to be tamed," Selby butted in, "Jim, take Miss Lockhart to Mr Higgs, and don't piss about!" Out of the corner of her eyes, Sally saw Jim roll his eyes and sigh, before setting off at quite a speed down a corridor. She followed, having to take about 3 paces to one of his. _Men, they never seem to keep control of themselves, always getting wound up. _

"There you go, Miss Lockhart. Higgsy's office. Name's Jim Taylor by the way, and I'll look out for you," His voice seemed quiet, but echoed around the room like it had been projected through some strange machine to make it louder. _Once I've spoken to Higgs, I'm going to speak to you, Jim Taylor, and find out who you really are. _She thanked him, and disappeared inside Higgs' office.

* * *

Skidmore sat in his office, watching out of the glass panel in the office window. The office boy, Jim, was sat on the wooden desk of the front office, whistling. _Stupid boy. _Skidmore hated Jim with vengeance. Ever since his first day here, when Jim called him a dickhead in front of the whole office, there was a mutual feeling between them of pure and total detestation.

He turned away, not wanting Jim to ruin his day anymore. He got up out of his chair and looked out the window. The streets below were jam-packed full of traders, selling everything from bread to fish, and young orphans skittered around everywhere, begging from people. The skies were blue as the deepest oceans, and clouds gathered like fluffy sheep in the fields of the sky. Something floated past the corner of his eye. He turned, and saw a small white creature caught in the curtain. He freed it, and it sat in his hands, looking up at him with small black eyes. If anyone was watching from the outside, they would have seen tendrils of darkness spreading from his hands, engulfing his head, entering his nose, and penetrating his head. And if they looked deeply enough into his eyes, they would see the black ink of evil spread over his eyes. His mind screamed, and he fell to the floor, writhing in agony and fitting, before falling quiet.


	5. The Boredom of an ex Timelord

_Offices are very boring places, _Jim decided, _even when working for a shipping agency, you can't fail to fall asleep ._Jim's quiet thoughts were interrupted by a scream. Not an ordinary scream, but the shriek of a tortured soul, of someone having their mind destroyed piece by piece. And it was coming from Skidmore's office. _I really do hate that twat, interrupting my lazing around time for most likely bugger all._ He ran towards it, checking to see if anyone else was coming. He edged in the door, which was blocked by his overly large desk. _I think he's making up for something, _Jim casually wondered, _the fact that he's a small man, with a small manhood._. Skidmore was sat, rocking gently in the corner. Jim approached him, and sat by his side.

* * *

_It's him, the Timelord. But wait, inside him beats a human heart. Damn those pompous dust gathering ego maniacs and their technology. But we will get him, and wipe the memory of Gallifrey from eternity. He doesn't deserve regenerations, we do, us, the children of __Sullbrinaari, and our glorious homeland. He has lived over many generations, and legend says he grows weary of travel. Surely, we shouldn't deny him his wishes..._

"Ermm, Mr Skidmore, are you okay?"

Skidmore came round to Jim Taylor's face, looking surprisingly concerned.

"What happened?" Jim shook his head.

"No idea, you just screamed. Everyone thought you had been murdered."

"What do you care? Stay away from me, boy. In fact, I quit. I can't take working with you any longer!"

And with that, Skidmore snatched his bag from the desk and stormed out the room.

_Oh shite, _Jim thought to himself,_ I've just pissed the boss off._


	6. Ka Faraq Gatri, aka Jim Taylor

Sally Lockhart heard a scream echo through the corridors. Jim went tearing past the window, hair flying and swearing under his breath, about how Skidmore was a waste of time, and had interrupted his time. _Like I said before, typical male. Only just enough brain cells to process sex, food and beer._

She turned back to Higgs. But nothing could have prepared her for the sight she saw. Higgs' face had been taken clean off, and the torn fibres of the muscle flopped over the joints of his jaw. And something was moving in his face. A black worm like creature squirmed over the teeth, leaving nothing but jaw bone behind it. It noticed her, and turned. It bared sharp teeth, and pounced at her. She drew away, waiting for the same fate as Higgs..........

* * *

Jim burst into the room, seeing the worm jump at Sally. He lunged, snatching her out of the way, letting the creature smash into the wall. He then grabbed a book, and promptly whacked it, the way you would to a spider.

"Jim, what was that?" Sally questioned, a hint of terror in her voice.

"I have no idea, but weird things are happening around here. Hang on; I think you banged your head when I pushed you out the way. You're bleeding," Jim answered, "I'll have a look for you,"

As Jim touched Sally's head, images flashed through her mind. They were alien to her. She and Jim were running from stranger creatures than the one that had just attacked her. Evil pepper pots, shouting "Exterminate" in cold, metallic, unforgiving voices, metal men charging through future cities, killing innocent people. A madman was laughing, four drum-beats sounding out in a constant pattern. And Jim wasn't Jim. He was always referred to as the Doctor, or as his enemies called him Ka Faraq Gatri, the Oncoming Storm, the Destroyer of Worlds. And the fire in his eyes un-nerved her. He was the destroyer of worlds, even his own home. A planet so far and different from Earth. A sunset red sky stayed in the sky, mountain ranges with fields of deep red grass, their peaks capped with snow. Silver leafed trees shone in the sunlight. He killed his own people, who stood tall and ancient throughout time, guardians of the universe. He wasn't human, but two hearts beat their rhythm in his chest. Time and space ran through him like blood. He was a lord of all creation, of time and space. The Timelord Victorious. She wasn't herself either. Rose Tyler. Those two words awoke a sleeping consciousness, and Rose Tyler awoke in the shabby Victorian office, and fell completely out cold into Jim's arms. Jim dragged her over to the large armchair, and placed her delicate frame into it. _Don't worry, Miss Lockhart, I'll find out what Skidmore done to you, and what that thing is, and I'll make that bastard pay. Got me fired, god damnit. And now he's hurt you, and if he shows his face anywhere near me, I'll kill him. And that's a promise._


	7. Revenge Is A Dish Best Served Hot

_The Timelord won't escape us. We nearly had his pretty assistant, and we could have had him. But what use is he as a human? Humans are plentiful on this piteous wreck of a planet, and there is only one Timelord. But this is the Timelord's home planet, before they took Gallifrey. What is he after? Oh no, he can't be. Greedy ancient twat. He wants the Ruby of Agrapur, and all its regenerative powers. Well, the ruby can only be used if the seeker is dying. And if the Doctor wants the ruby, the ruby he shall have. And then Sullbrinaari will rise from the ashes of Gallifrey, and the Universe shall be ours._

Jim sat by Sally as she slowly came round.

"Miss Lockhart, you had me scared for a minute. I thought I had killed you," Jim genuinely had thought this. The moment he touched her, she turned cold and limp, before collapsing into her arms.

"Miss Lockhart? What are you on about, Doctor?"

_Doctor. That was the name of the man in his dreams. Well, him in his dreams._

"Doctor? I'm Jim, you know, good old James Taylor, shortened to Jim, met me this morning, "

"Like you can talk. Lockhart, what the hell are you on about? I'm Rose, Doctor, don't you remember me?"

And then it dawned on her. The Doctor no longer existed. He had used the Chameleon Arch, and changed into a human. Not the most amazing human, just this teenage muppet that didn't know what he was doing. Mind you, he was still gorgeous. His eyes seemed to have lost the tiredness that had come with travelling the Universe, and he seemed to have a bounce in his every step, not just ambled along like he would do, on those horrible days where he remembered the Time War, and the terrors he must have seen. Maybe she could deal with a human Doctor, and him and her could live out their lives together. And then she saw Higgs' body lying in the corner. His blood had been drained completely from his body, and all that remained were the internal organs, skin, fat and bones. All the muscle, ligaments and tendons had gone. Rose was sure that nothing human could do this. The world needed the Doctor, but right now, the Doctor had turned his back on the world, on her and on all of humanity, and had become an adolescent boy with no control of his emotions.

Jim left the room. He couldn't take being in there with whatever was left of Mr Higgs. _Poor old Higgsy, didn't deserve that. He was always good to me, and never got angry. Shame it wasn't Skidmore. Thinking of him, where is he? Revenge is a dish best served hot. And you're getting it straight out of the oven for what you done to Miss Lockhart. Poor dear, she thinks she's some girl called Rose._

Rose. And the bombshell finally dropped. That was the name of the girl. The girl that travelled everywhere with this man. Him. And Jim just couldn't take it anymore. _Skidmore's going to die. He's ruined too many people's lives._


	8. A Perfectly Executed Rugby Tackle

Jim flew out of the office, smashing the panels of glass in the windows of the doors as he flung them open, his face seething with rage and tears streaming down his face. Rose ran after him, pleading with him not to do anything stupid, as this so-called 'Doctor' needed him to stay alive.

"If this Doctor is so wonderful, why isn't he here? Why isn't your precious Doctor saving the day and killing Skidmore?" Jim shouted back to her.

"He is,"

Rose had taken enough of this boys stupid anger. She sprinted up to him and took him down in a perfectly executed rugby tackle.

"Jim, you are the Doctor,"

"I don't know what you are talking about. I'm just normal Jim Taylor, I'm 19, and I was an office boy. Until you and all your weird creatures and your stupid Doctor man showed up. You know what; this is your entire fault! If you hadn't come to the office, I wouldn't be in this mess. Now get off me!"

And with that, Jim jumped up and carried on his way. Rose realized nothing short of aliens abducting him right now would stop him. And that is exactly what happened. Skidmore and several other men jumped out on Jim, injecting him with some kind of poison, from what Rose could see, and bundled him into a carriage.

"No! Stop right now! They've abducted my friend!" Rose screamed.

_He's more than that. I love him, and if anything happens to him, my life will be in ruins._

She ran, hell for leather after the carriage, with the image of the unconscious human Doctor, alone and vulnerable in her mind.

* * *

_We have the Timelord! But he is still human. We'll have to kill him, and force the ruby. It comes to the closest mortally wounded child of Gallifrey, so he'll have to be killed. But not yet. We need the girl to use to our advantage. We can kill her in front of him, and make the pain worse, before he ends up dead. Gallifrey is confined to the past now. The Doctor has no place in events to come._

Skidmore laughed.

"Why, the Timelord is that pathetic office boy, Taylor! Who would have thought, an immortal being would be such a prick?" He chuckled to himself.

_You human wreck. _

The voice inside his head had started again.

_Sullbrinaari will defeat you and your pathetic Earth. Your human mind has served its purpose now._

"What are you going to do?"

_Crush your very being right out of existence, and use your body as a camouflaged shell, so that me and my brethren may walk among your useless kind, and take Earth back. _

And with that word, the alien being inside Skidmore's head took over. And the Earth kept turning, heading towards its final days of normality.


	9. My Sweet, Sweet Doctor

A sharp stab of pain, like a huge needle, shot through Jim's head, causing him to sweat in pain. His eyes blurred before him, turning the dark room he was in into a big mass of swirling shapes.

"So, Doctor, thought you would become human, hey?" A familiar voice boomed through the mist.

"Why does everyone keep calling me Doctor? I'm just Jim!" He replied, his head making him pay dearly for every word he said.

"Because that's who you are, and Sullbrinaari need the Timelord Victorious to make them immortal, just think the original children of Gallifrey can take the glory, instead of the pompous conquerors that stole our planet!"

"No, I'm not, Skidmore," Skidmore moved from the shadows by the doorway.

"You may deny it, but you will come to accept that you aren't James Taylor. He's a figment of an alien's imagination. You don't exist. But Sullbrinaari does, and the whole planet will rain down on your pathetic little Earth."

Skidmore moved towards Jim, and promptly drew out a knife. _Well, Jimbo, you can successfully say that Skidmore's got a degree in being a bastard, full honours and everything. _Skidmore advanced, and curved the knife across Jim's smooth cheek, drawing blood as he butchered the young skin. Jim done nothing but screamed as fiery lines carved their way across his face. The alien withdrew, leaving the red thick liquid pouring down the boy's face.

"Now that's I've done a little bit of, shall we say, re-decorating of your face, Doctor, you can admit to being a Timelord!"

"Look, how many times do I have to tell you, I'm not a whatever you just said? I'm just Jim Taylor. I was born in Camden, I never went to school, I worked at Lockhart and Selby's and I hate you!"

"No, you hated Skidmore. I am something far more than him. Do you want to see?"

"No, keep you and your alien world to yourself. I've already got some girl after me, trying to tell me I'm the Doctor, and now you are!"

And with that, Skidmore punched Jim round the face, knocking him out of the chair and leaving him on the floor, his blood spilling out around him.

* * *

Rose sat in an pub, staring blankly into the air. _The Doctor's disappeared. And no-one around here's heard of Jim Taylor._

"Oh, Jim Taylor, what have you gotten yourself into? Typical boy, always leaving the girl to sort things out,"

"Did you say you were looking for Jim Taylor?" A young girl by the window sat up.

"Yes, what do you know of him? Have you seen him?"

"I did. Yesterday. Skidmore and a few men I don't know were dragging him into the house, just up the street from here. And earlier this morning, Skidmore left. He told the innkeeper that he won't be back till 12 midnight, and that no-one was to enter the building,"

"Thank you so much. What's your name?"

"Adelaide."

"Mine is Rose, and trust me, Adelaide; you may have just saved the world,"

And with that, Rose left the pub, and snuck up the street. She gently opened the door of the house. _Doctor, you better still be alive._ She rounded the corner, checking every room. And as she opened the door of a particularly small, dark room, she caught the sight of Jim, laying spread eagled in a pool of blood. But he was still alive. That was the important thing.

But as he looked up at her, she noticed what Skidmore had done to his face. Huge red lacerations spread cheek to cheek, and his face was coated in drying blood and mud from the floor.

_Dear Doctor, oh my sweet, sweet Doctor, whatever have they done to you?_


	10. Love And Lies

Jim looked up at Rose, almost seeming to be crying out with pain, his eyes watering before he fell to the floor, exhausted from the blood loss. Rose knelt by his side.

"Rose, we need to get to the TARDIS. The temporal energy there will heal me before I regenerate," The Doctor's voice boomed from Jim.

_Good god, The Doctor's still in there. He can remember._

Rose looked deeply into his eyes, watching the time vortex spin through them, before extinguishing like a flame after having run out of oxygen. The boy in Rose's arms shuddered, breathing rapidly, before calming down and opening his eyes.

"What just happened? You walked in the room, and something took my mind. Something wise, ancient. It's him. The Doctor. I can remember him from my dreams!"

And then Jim realized that what Skidmore had said was true. Jim Taylor was never a real person. He was just a story. And that's when the tears came. Saltwater pouring from his eyes into the open wounds on his face, burning. But nothing could hurt more that knowing that he was a lie. He turned to the girl, betrayal flickering in his eyes.

"So you really are called Rose?"

Rose hugged him, pulling him into a close embrace, before pulling his face away.

"Yes, Jim, and you are a real person. Just a human version of what the Doctor would be like. And you can still fall in love."

And with that, she kissed Jim, her hands running down the back of his neck, ruffling his hair and his hands grasping her tightly. She moved her head away from his lips, and held him in her arms, his head on her lap. She stroked his hair.

"And everything will be fine, Jim, don't you worry."

But Rose Tyler was very worried. She knew that Skidmore hadn't finished with Jim and the Doctor. And she knew he'd be back. All she could do was comfort Jim, and love him, and hope that Skidmore didn't return soon. And lying, telling him that nothing will hurt him, may have just saved the Doctor from tipping over the edge into oblivion.

* * * *

4 months later, and Jim's face bore nearly no scars.

_That must be the Timelord DNA still in prevents any tissue damage. The Doctor's still in there. And somehow I don't want him back. Jim's perfect in every way. He's young, gorgeous and he is exactly like the Doctor .But that's me being greedy. The whole of creation depends on the Doctor, the last of the Timelords, and if he is lost forever, the darkness will come from the deepest corners of the Universe, and swallow the whole of time and space. I need the Doctor, but Jim is one of the best parts of him._

"Rose, I'm just going out to the market. Do you want to come with me?"

"Of course, you wally. It's boring staying here and doing nothing," Rose replied, her voice hinting at complete boredom.

They set off out of the door, hand in hand, staring into each other's eyes.

_Rose is the most beautiful girl I have ever met, and I hope I never lose her. I hope she doesn't notice that this whole market trip is just a way to propose to her. Sweet Jesus, I'm actually going to do it. I dunno how to though .She'll be my soulmate forever..._


	11. An Innocent Proposal

Jim and Rose strolled along the narrow streets of Camden Lock, looking at stalls, their wares scattered over their booths. Pretty jewels and gold shone from one side of the street, while fish and meat hung from butchers' hooks on the other. Rose headed over to one of the jewellery stalls. She glanced over the wares, spotting a small golden ring, with delicate golden flowers engraved into its side, and a red gem encrusted in its centre.

"Oh, Jim, isn't it beautiful?" Rose looked at Jim, who was scuffing his boots along the ground in apparent boredom.

"Yes, like you. Do you want it?" Jim replied, a smile on his face as Rose thanked him for the compliment.

"Surely we cannot afford such an expensive ring?" Jim now had a new job, as a shop assistant for a photographer, Frederick Garland, and earned 3 shillings a week, but the golden ring was more expensive than that.

Jim fished around in his pockets, before pulling out a bag of money.

"No, I've been saving up to buy you a present," Jim smiled as Rose ran up to him and grabbed him, kissing him passionately in a tender cuddle. He handed the stallholder the money, before kneeling in front of Rose with the ring in his hand.

_Here we go, Jimbo, just stay calm and you can do this._

"Rose Tyler, even though I have only known you a few months, it seems like a few years. And you are the most perfect woman in the Universe. Will you please take this idiot as your husband?"

Rose's jaw dropped.

_Jesus, Mary, mother of God, what am I going to do! If I get the Doctor back and we're married, it's going to make life in the TARDIS a lot harder. But Jim is my lover, and I know that the Doctor can't be returned unless Jim dies. And he doesn't deserve that. Or being denied his proposal._

"Yes, Jim, I will marry you!" Jim jumped up, hugging Rose so tightly that her corset had started to creak under the pressure. He placed his forehead on hers, and looked deep into her eyes.

_Just like he did when he absorbed the Time Vortex from me, back when he was younger._

"Then we need to have a party then!"

And with that Jim placed the ring on her finger. They kissed, tenderly at first, before becoming more passionate as more and more people started to stare. Jim noticed that, and pulled away from her.

They looked into each other's eyes and walked away, toward the even narrower streets of the East End, not knowing the fate that awaited Jim there.

* * *

_He's coming. Ka Faraq Gatri approaches. And we will get the Timelord back, and then steal his regenerations. The conquerors of Gallifrey need to be confined to the history books, and the original children of the Shining World of the Seven Systems will rise from the ashes of the Destroyer of Worlds, and will take the Universe for themselves. Starting with this, the cold hard Earth and all its whimpering humans. Our babies need a food source..._

Skidmore moved through the shadows of the darkest streets in London. Thieves and murderers lurked at every corner, giving him threatening looks and picking their teeth with knifes, while pubs, overflowing with drunkards and whores, populated the streets.

_Humans, so primitive. But not for much longer. The human race will cease to exist._

He slipped down a side street, before ending out on one of the thoroughfares that led to the dock. His eyes scanned the crowd, looking for a familiar head of brown hair, covering one eye, and the startling emerald eyes. He found his target, and withdrew the weapon.

* * *

The couple in love strolled happily through the streets, heading towards the docks. The red jewel on Rose's finger glistened in the sunlight, catching the eyes of many a pickpocket. But none approached. The boy she was with had a certain air about him, as if anyone that threatened anything dear to him would be instantly killed. He seemed like he had ended many lives.

"Jim, you do know that I won't let anything happen to you?",Rose looked up at him, " We're going to be together forever,"

_And if the Doctor comes back, we will be. We can travel together, through time and space and live our whole lives. I wonder if the Doctor knows my feelings. He must do. _

And that's when metal shattered Rose's perfect day.


	12. A Smashed Engagement Ring

Red. The colour of blood, of war, of death. A scarlet spot appeared on Jim's chest, slowly growing in size, before dripping down his greying shirt as he fell to the floor, a look of agonizing pain on his face. Rose ran towards him, her eyes flowing with tears, as she skidded to a halt and held his head in her arms.

"Rose," Jim was speaking very quietly, struggling to speak as he gasped for breath, "I love you, and I want you to know that the Doctor does too."

"Don't start getting all like that, you aren't dying. You're going to be fine," Rose knew deep in her heart this wasn't true. The bullet had pierced his vital organs. And he wouldn't regenerate , all because he was human. But he had said the Doctor loved her too. _He's still fighting for it. He still wants to be a Timelord, but he can't._

"I am, Rose, I can feel it. The coldness, the eternal darkness, the end of it all, it's creeping up and I know I won't survive. Skidmore got what he wanted. Stupid git,"

"Don't worry, I'll get him for you,"

"Rose, do one thing for me. Find the Ruby. I heard Skidmore talking about it, and it might bring the Doctor back. You need him more than silly old Jim."

Jim smiled at his fiancée, before falling limp in Rose's arms, his chest falling still and blood spilling onto her lap. Rose could do nothing but scream. Scream for the boy who had just died, for the Universe, which was doomed, for her lost love. She rocked his dead body, letting the tears flow onto his cheeks, over the glassed over green eyes.

_The Timelord is dead. The Ruby will be summoned to him, and the original children of Gallifrey will take the immortality and the whole of creation. Long live Sullbrinaari!_

"So, Miss Rose Tyler, wasn't it?" Skidmore appeared from a darkened alley running off from the street. "The Doctor is dead, and do you know what that means?"

"How do you know that he's the Doctor?" Rose was scared. She was all alone in the world, her beautiful Doctor was dead, and her parents hadn't even been born yet.

"Don't you know, Bad Wolf? His people were conquerors, not the original peoples of Gallifrey. The Timelords originated on Earth, and the Sullbrinaari, the true Gallifreyians want revenge. And the Doctor's led us right to it. Immortality."

" No, the Timelords were honourable! They were the guardians of the Time Vortex! And what do you mean, immortality?"

"Don't you remember what he told you in the TARDIS? The Ruby of Agrapur?"

_**It's said, that back in the very beginnings of time, when Earth was the first settled planet of the Time Lords, before we discovered Gallifrey, that the first Time Lord placed a ruby, The Ruby of Agrapur, in the centre of the Time Lord citadel, and that whoever finds it will be forever immortal, and would have endless regenerations. But Rose, if I do it, you must promise me one thing. Only get the ruby if I am mortally wounded. Don't find it if I fall over. Only if I die. Promise me that.**_

_It's all true, _Rose thought, _He's lied to me. But the Doctor's been killed. Where's the Ruby?_

A burning sensation spread across Rose's ring finger. She glanced down at it. It had changed. The large red jewel was swirling. _The Time Vortex! This must be it! _The gold around it was changing as well. Timelord scripting was forming around the edges and a miniature TARDIS was engraved at the top, it's light seeming to flash in the sunlight.

"Well, you big alien thing, I don't know what you're thinking, but if I was you, I would be scared, because the Doctor's back in town!" And with that, Rose dropped the ring onto the floor, the ruby smashing into a million pieces and the time energy within spilling out. It flowed over the cobbles of the rough London streets, before sneaking over the body and pouring into its mouth. The body shuddered, its damage being undone, and the bullet flying back out onto the pavement.

_Lub-dub-lub-dub. The rhythm of four. The heartbeat of a Timelord._

And with that single smashed ring, the Lord of Time arose from the dead, and the Doctor was once more.


End file.
